Car Insurance - please help with a total mess!

vikinggreen

bouncyd!!!, I am so grateful for your help. I am stuggling to get to grips with replying to you, but please bear with me. I will answer your questions as best I can.

bouncyd!!! wrote: »

How long have you had the BMW and people carrier and how long have they been insured in your husbands name?

We have had the BMW since first registration (05) and bought it from new. The Galaxy was bought from new on a leasing arrangement through husband's company (02). When husbadnd left the company we bought the car outright.

Both cars have been registered and insured in my husband's name ever since, which I now realise must have been a dreadful, dreadful mistake.

How long have you had the micra and how long has it been insured in your husbands name?

A couple of weeks.

I suspect from what you haven't told us, that you have recently purchased the micra and obtained a quote assuming full bonus?

Sorry! I have tried to tell yu everything, but it is very difficult to get it all across in one post.

Now of course you have realised that the bonus is already being used on the BMW and people carrier?

Yes.

If I am correct, then you are very unlikely to find an insurer who is going to believe that your husband is the main user on three vehicles.

He drives around 20,000 miles each year, I drive around 3,000 miles and my son will probably drive around 1,000 miles.

Insurers will sometimes accept that one driver is main user on two vehicles and if the drivers are husband and wife of similar age etc, then they wouldn't be too bothered.

Thank you - that is helpful.

The issue is your 17 year old provisional licence holder

Don't I know it!

who is either going to have to start a policy in his own name or your husband is going to have to declare him as main driver on the policy your husband holds for the micra and pay pretty much the same as if the policy was in your son's name.

I am still not clear about this, but I genuinely appreciate your attempts to educate me!

Forget about moving the BMW bonus to the micra - the groupings on BMW's are usually pretty high and the premium with nil bonus will be pretty high.

Yes, I thought so.

Post back with the full facts on how long each vehicle has been owned/insured and then we can try to provide a little more help.

Hopefully I have done that now.
[
QUOTE]
Crossed with your post! Micra recently bought then? Son can't drive anywhere at present without a co-driver - what is happening when he passes his test?
[/QUOTE]
The insurance for the Micra will go up by around £300 and we will continue to drive it, with husband doing far more miles in it than either son or me as named drivers.

Also you have added that your probably drive the Galaxy most, so I guess insurers will put husband as main user BMW, you as main user Galaxy - and the micra will be for your son.

Hopefully I have explained that already?

dacouch

When your son passes his test, how often will he use it, will he drive to and from work ?

mikey72

Way out if I was the op. I'd insure the people carrier in my name as the wife, and negotiate a ncd based on the number of years I'd been a named driver on my husbands policy. A decent broker, the co-op, direct line, may give a reasonable introductory discount. That would leave two genuine 10 year ncd for the husband to use on the BMW, (as is at the moment), and one for the new Micra, with the son fully declared, but when he passes be prepared to switch into his name a main driver. It would cost a bit in the short term, but it would be worth it if a claim ever arises, or the insurers realise you're using a ncd twice. - edit - Crossed with op's answer to dbouncydog, but I think this is still the way out, otherwise it's not good.

vikinggreen

Mikey, I understand your scepticism entirely! We were faced with the problem of having two cars which were almost totally uninsurable for a son who wants to practice driving.

Buying a car in his name and insuring it for him was going to cost a king's ransom (best quote £8,000+)

After a lengthy family conference and many spreadsheets we all agreed that the way we could best comply with the law, and with insurance company T&Cs was to register and insure the Micra in husband's name and make absolutely certain that we could demonstrate (on oath) that we drove the Micra for more miles and more frequently that our son.

I would never try to break the law or commit fraud. I have been very ignorant about our insurance until now, so if you can help with my initial post about the NCD I would be very grateful.

PDAH

BMW should be insured in your husbands name with you as a named driver, the galaxy in yours with your husband as a named driver and I agree that you would be entitled to an introductory bonus of 30%+ if you can demonstrate safe driving. The Micra, I would put in the sons name and use an insurer like Coverbox that will give you a good deal as they will insure him on how he drives.You might as well get your son earning his own NCD on the Micra. When is renewal on the Galaxy?

mikey72

We must have crossed posts, post #14 is the way I would go.

vikinggreen

Oh dear, I am such a slow typist! X-post with you Mikey, but thank you so much.

I need to absorb what you have suggested - it is all so complicated suddenly, and I am so worried about having 3 cars on the drive that are probably uninsured in the event of a claim.

I am usually so clued up about such things, but this has thrown me completely.

mildred1978

vikinggreen wrote: »

Mikey, I understand your scepticism entirely! We were faced with the problem of having two cars which were almost totally uninsurable for a son who wants to practice driving.

Buying a car in his name and insuring it for him was going to cost a king's ransom (best quote £8,000+)

After a lengthy family conference and many spreadsheets we all agreed that the way we could best comply with the law, and with insurance company T&Cs was to register and insure the Micra in husband's name and

I would never try to break the law or commit fraud. I have been very ignorant about our insurance until now, so if you can help with my initial post about the NCD I would be very grateful.

You might as well insure the micra in your son's name. There's no insurer that will believe your story - you're engineering a situation to try to save money.

dacouch

Bear in mind`that just because your husband uses the car for 2 days and puts 300 miles on it in those days, does not necessarily mean he is the main user over your son (Once he's passed his test) and uses the car for 3 days for a total of 40 miles.

vikinggreen

dacouch wrote: »

Bear in mind`that just because your husband uses the car for 2 days and puts 300 miles on it in those days, does not necessarily mean he is the main user over your son (Once he's passed his test) and uses the car for 3 days for a total of 40 miles.

How does an insurer decide on the "main user" of a car?